How a husband-and-wife duo salvaged West Dean gardens

So, if you share the work in your garden with a partner, who does what? Husband and wife team Sarah Wain and Jim Buckland have gardened together at West Dean in West Sussex for a quarter of a century. “We rub along pretty well,” Sarah says. “The garden is a joint passion, very much part of our lives, and it’s a privilege to see it grow and come to fruition.”

Jim, aka The Thin Controller, oversees the garden. His official title is gardens manager. Sarah (gardens supervisor) works mostly among the veg in the Victorian walled garden and in the glasshouses (there are 14 restored Edwardian houses). She used to be a floral designer and admits to being a horticultural polymath: an expert grower of ferns, exotic ornamentals and her now-famous chillies.

West Dean's greenhouses

The couple arrived at West Dean in 1991, in the wake of the infamous storms of the late Eighties. Nearly 50 per cent of the trees had been felled and the garden looked unkempt and tired. But the devastation was a unique opportunity to start again.

The garden centre was closed and the rest of the site divided into four sections. Over the last quarter of a century the walled garden has been redeveloped, the impressive glasshouses are almost restored, much of the arboretum has been replanted and the whole garden has been brought into the 21st century.

The couple met in the hothouses of Kew, where Jim graduated and Sarah worked in the temperate department, having started out in Australia. Does she regret spending most of her working life in one place? “No, but I’d love to see the garden attracting more visitors. We’re not on a garden route, and many people believe this is just somewhere to learn, rather than relax.

“The college offers degrees in Conservation Studies and Creative Arts, and is planning to offer horticultural qualifications soon, although we have lots of fantastic speakers here and there are plenty of garden orientated events. I want to see more people coming just to enjoy our hard work.”

Jim Buckland and Sarah Wain Credit:
Irene Caswell

And how does Jim look back on his career at West Dean? “We’ve been well supported and allowed to develop this garden on a fairly long leash. I’m the broad brush, Sarah takes care of the finer detail.” His particular passion is the St Roche Arboretum: “It has a very special atmosphere with wonderful views of the Sussex Downs. I have a weakness for Californian redwoods, there are still a few surviving champion trees, and I’ve planted a couple of dozen, now 25-30ft tall.”

Over the years, the deadwood cleared, the gardeners have removed much of the invasive laurel, creating more open spaces where wildflowers grow. The 50-acre arboretum was a favourite spot of Edward James, the last owner of West Dean, who created the foundation that runs the estate today.

He was a surrealist and an art collector. He designed a surrealist garden in Xilita, Mexico at Las Pozas, that cost $5 million, but his final resting place is in the arboretum among the trees, which include national collections of Liriodendron and horse chestnuts.

Particular passion: St Roche’s Arboretum has a special atmosphere

I wondered how the couple garden at home at Gardeners’ Cottage. They have, according to their NGS entry “a small, serene and secluded theatrical garden, with a strong emphasis on texture, foliage and structure, created by topiary and paths” (open May 22). It seems Jim is in charge here. “I’m a demon pruner – a control freak, I like torturing plants,” he says.

So, what plans for retirement, away from this garden that has dominated their lives? Jim wants to follow his hobbies: reading, singing and travel, and has put his name down for an allotment, but Sarah is passionate about encouraging others into gardening.

“We aren’t paid oceans, but I can hear the birds and I’m not stuck at a computer. Perhaps it’s not something that appeals to school leavers, but it’s great for career changers and an important industry.”

West Dean Garden would love to welcome Telegraph readers. For details of the garden’s opening times, events and courses, see westdean.org.uk. There is a ‘Meet the Gardeners’ evening on April 22.